Octavia Art Gallery is pleased to present Connected Interflow, an exhibition featuring recent works by Scott Andresen, Sophia Belkin, and Aaron Collier. Together, these three artists explore the fluid intersections of repair, transformation, and perception through process-driven practices that blend material sensitivity with conceptual depth.
 

Though distinct in their approaches, Andresen, Belkin, and Collier each investigate the act of layering—whether through fabric, dye, paint, or stitching—as a metaphor for the passage of time and the complexities of lived experience. Their works speak to the power of imperfection, the interdependence of form and meaning, and the organic rhythm of natural and emotional ecosystems.
 

Scott Andresen’s work is rooted in the concept of mending—physically, emotionally, and metaphorically. A life-altering accident over a decade ago redirected his artistic path toward the philosophy of repair, drawing from global textile traditions. In Connected Interflow, Andresen applies delicate veils of silk to canvas, creating compositions that feel suspended in motion. Tears and flaws in the material are not hidden but highlighted through meticulous embroidery, honoring the history and healing embedded within each mark.
 

Sophia Belkin also engages deeply with textile-based media, layering dyed, digitally printed, and embroidered fabrics into vibrant, living surfaces. Her work draws inspiration from swamp and wetland ecosystems in the Gulf South and Mid-Atlantic, echoing their dense biodiversity and continual transformation. Belkin’s paintings embody the interconnectedness of natural systems and suggest resilient, regenerative futures, especially as environmental uncertainty looms.
 

Aaron Collier’s paintings navigate the space between revelation and concealment. Through an intuitive abstraction, Collier captures fleeting impressions—glimpses of order in chaos, or harmony within fragmentation. His work invites viewers to linger in ambiguity, echoing the instability of memory, experience, and perception. Like Andresen and Belkin, Collier leans into process, allowing the act of making to guide meaning.
 

Connected Interflow is a meditation on the unseen currents that connect us—through bodies, ecologies, memory, and material. The exhibition foregrounds the generative potential in layering, unearthing, and rebuilding, while celebrating the poetic beauty of what is in-between.
 

Artist's Biography
 

Scott Andresen holds an MFA from Yale University and a BA from Hunter College. He has exhibited widely across the U.S., with solo and group exhibitions at Lehmann Maupin Gallery (NY), the New Orleans Museum of Art (LA), and The Bronx Museum (NY). His work is part of permanent collections including the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Museum of Arts & Design (NY). Andresen has attended prestigious residencies including Black Rock (Senegal), Socrates Sculpture Park (NY), and the Joan Mitchell Foundation (LA).
 

Sophia Belkin, born in Moscow and currently based in Baltimore, earned her BFA in drawing and printmaking from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Her work has been featured in exhibitions at Dinner Gallery (NY), Ochi Gallery (Los Angeles), and Hemphill (Washington, DC). Belkin has participated in numerous international residencies, including in Estonia, Russia, and at the Joan Mitchell Foundation in New Orleans.
 

Aaron Collier lives and works in New Orleans, where he received his MFA from Tulane University. His paintings have been exhibited at the Contemporary Arts Center (New Orleans), the Ogden Museum of Southern Art, and Cole Pratt Gallery. Collier’s work is held in collections including the New Orleans Museum of Art and Boston Medical Center. He has completed residencies at the ISCP (NY), Ragdale Foundation (IL), and OAZO (Amsterdam), among others.